Source: University of British Columbia
Over 700 million Canadian farm animals were transported in 2016 according to Regulations Amending the Health of Animals Regulations bulletin published by the Government of Canada. Farm animals are typically transported at least once in their lives (e.g., from the farm to the slaughter facility) but in some industries transport may occur more often; for example, male dairy calves may be transported from the dairy farm to a veal or calf grower, possibly a feedlot, and then again to the slaughter facility. Transportation is an inherently stressful experience, with numerous stressors including being exposed to unknown environments, comingling with unknown animals, human handling, no or inconsistent access to feed and water, and exposure to extreme temperatures. In Canada, transportation may be lengthy in duration. For instance, cattle, with the exception of milk fed calves or compromised animals, can be transported for up to 36 hours without feed, water, or rest. Given the myriad of stressors involved in transport, it can be especially challenging for vulnerable animals that may be in poor health (e.g., cull cows).
In this research report we summarize the findings of three recent publications on animal transport. The first is a comprehensive multi-country jurisdictional scan – or fitness check – of live animal transportation regulations in five English-speaking Western jurisdictions (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the EU, and the US). For fitness checks we used the definition provided by the European Commission “as a comprehensive policy evaluation to assess whether the regulatory framework for a policy sector is fit for purpose”. In this research report we specifically focus on how Canada’s recent transport regulations (updated in 2020, with enforcement beginning in 2022) compared to the other jurisdictions. The second and third publications summarize the findings of interview-based studies of cull dairy cow transporters and dairy farmers in British Columbia and dairy calf transporters in Atlantic Canada; key stakeholders who work with two groups of vulnerable animals. These studies report on challenges with transporting cull dairy cows and
dairy calves, and stakeholder perceptions of the updated Canadian animal transport regulations.
The comparative multi-country ‘fitness check’ highlighted areas where some jurisdictions provide clearer guidance than others. Canada has achieved the greatest specificity in its transport regulations, though they remain vague on space allowances and thermal conditions. Meanwhile, the US falls behind Australia, the European Union, Canada, and New Zealand due to limited regulations on fitness for transport during domestic animal transport. In contrast to the US, the other four jurisdictions have adopted more comprehensive regulations and generally prohibit the transport of unfit animals. For example, in Canada, the revised animal transport regulations now describe specific conditions that would make an animal unfit for transport and state “no person shall load, confine or transport an animal that is unfit” unless certain conditions (e.g., if the animal is to receive care) are met.
Despite the improved specificity in Canada’s recent regulatory update, our interview-based research with dairy farmers and animal transporters provides some evidence that awareness and enactment of the new requirements is lagging. Perhaps due to the recency of the update, some dairy farmers and livestock transporters were unaware of the specifics of the regulations, including updated maximum transport intervals and stipulations for compromised animals. Given that the responsibilities for animal welfare are largely placed on actors like dairy farmers and haulers by the regulations, further educational efforts may be needed to improve awareness and understanding of the regulations.
Animal transporters and dairy farmers also discussed challenges with complying with the regulations. These challenges spanned the length of the supply chain, from farm to slaughter. For example, farmers stated they may find it difficult to keep calves on farm for at least 8 days as stipulated by the regulations. Both farmers and animal transporters cited difficulties with communicating with other actors along the supply chain, which made it difficult to know how long animals were being transported and whether their condition might be deteriorating along that journey. Both farmers and livestock transporters were also concerned about a lack of slaughter plants located within reasonable distance to farming areas across the country, making it difficult to transport compromised animals directly to slaughter within 12 hours as stipulated by the regulations.
Despite these challenges, haulers and dairy farmers described the importance of upholding practices associated with improved animal welfare, including that cull dairy cows should be shipped whilst in good physical condition, and that trailers should be kept clean. From this work, we recommend continued efforts to increase industry awareness of the regulations and achieve buy-in with key stakeholders regarding the associated animal welfare benefits. In doing so, continued work to implement the regulations in collaboration with key stakeholders could play a key role in improving farm animal transport and welfare in Canada.
For further information please contact Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk (nina@mail.ubc.ca). The results described in this article are based on three recently published studies: Duval, Eugénie, Benjamin Lecorps and Marina A.G. von Keyserlingk. 2024. Are regulations addressing farm animal welfare issues during live transportation fit for purpose? A multi- country jurisdictional check. R. Soc. Open Sci.11: 231072. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231072 ; Kuo, Christine and Marina A.G. von Keyserlingk. 2023. Livestock hauler and dairy farmer views on cull cow transport. Animal Welfare 32, e42 https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2023.36 ; Hendricks, Jillian, Steve Roche, Kathryn L. Proudfoot, Marina A.G. von Keyserlingk. 2023. Livestock haulers’ views about dairy cattle welfare during transport in Atlantic Canada. J. Dairy Sci. 106:3548-3558 https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022- 22752
The majority of funding for studies summarized above was provided by the Humane Slaughter Association (https://www.hsa.org.uk). General funding for the Animal Welfare Program during the time of this study was provided by NSERC Industrial Research Chair program with industry contributions from the Alberta Milk (Edmonton, AB, Canada), British Columbia Dairy Association (Burnaby, BC, Canada), Boehringer Ingelheim (Burlington, ON, Canada), CanWest DHI (Guelph, ON, Canada), BC Cattle Industry Development Fund (Kamloops, BC, Canada), Dairy Farmers of Canada (Ottawa, ON, Canada), Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB, Canada), Intervet Canada Corporation (Kirkland, QC, Canada), Saputo Inc. (Montreal, QC, Canada), SaskMilk (Regina, SK, Canada), and Semex Alliance (Guelph, ON, Canada).
Research Reports are published four times a year by UBC’s Dairy Education and Research Centre (DERC), a centre affiliated with the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, to share applied aspects of research from published articles in refereed scientific journals. The Dairy Education and Research Centre is used by several research groups on campus including Animal Reproduction and Animal Welfare and Behaviour. Other groups interested in conducting research at the Centre are encouraged to contact the UBC DERC Research Manager Dr. Julia Lomb (Julia.Lomb@ubc.ca).
